Department for Transport

Department for Transport: Sustainable Development

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to participate in the UK Voluntary National Review of Progress towards the sustainable development goals.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport is supporting the Department for International Development as it leads the UK Voluntary National Review of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

Highways England: Pay

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2018 to Question 191428 on Highways England: Pay, if he will publish the review by EY into executive pay in Highways England.

Jesse Norman: The review will inform pay policy development by Government and the company. There are no plans to publish the EY review into remuneration arrangements across Highways England.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme: Northern Ireland

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many schemes in Northern Ireland have been supported by the Enterprise Finance scheme; and which banks in Northern Ireland have supported those schemes.

Kelly Tolhurst: The British Business Bank’s Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme has supported 299 loans to SMEs in Northern Ireland, with a total value of £43.6m.There are 19 EFG Accredited Lenders for Northern Ireland, which are publicly available to view on the British Business Bank’s website.

Fireworks: Children

Danielle Rowley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps are being taken to ensure that fireworks are not accessible to people under the age of 18.

Kelly Tolhurst: Under the Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015 there is a ban on the supply of categories F2 and F3 fireworks to people under the age of 18.All premises supplying these fireworks are required by the Fireworks Regulations 2004 to display a notice highlighting that it is illegal to sell fireworks to people who are underage and for underage people to possess them in public. There is also a ban on the possession of these fireworks in public places by people under 18.Local Authority Trading Standards have powers to enforce the law and work with businesses to help them comply with the law through practical advice and toolkits. The maximum penalty for supplying category F2 or category F3 fireworks to a person under 18 is a fine or three months imprisonment.

Animal Welfare: Fireworks

Danielle Rowley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps are being taken to protect animals from the effects of fireworks.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government encourages users of fireworks to follow safety guidance, including keeping pets safe. We also advise users to be considerate of neighbours by giving plenty of notice.The Office for Product Safety and Standards’ recent firework safety campaign, delivered with partners including the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents reached over a million consumers.Further guidance on how to avoid or reduce stress to animals from fireworks has been published by animal charities, including Blue Cross, and can be accessed from gov.uk.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Matthew Hedges

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the authorities in the United Arab Emirates as a result of the sentencing of UK student Matthew Hedges.

Alistair Burt: ​​Following the court hearing on Wednesday 21 November, the Foreign Secretary released a statement and discussed Matthew Hedges' case with Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed and the United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the UK. I have also spoken to Deputy Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash, most recently on 23 November. We welcome the news of Mr Hedges' pardon. He has now returned to the UK and has reunited with his wife

Matthew Hedges

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government has taken to ascertain the (a) whereabouts and (b) health and well-being of Matthew Hedges following his sentencing.

Alistair Burt: We welcome the news of Mr Hedges' pardon. He has now returned to the UK and has reunited with his wife.

Matthew Hedges

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assurances the Government received from the United Arab Emirates authorities on Matthew Hedges prior to his conviction and sentencing.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign Secretary personally raised this issue with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed during his visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 12 November. The Foreign Secretary raised the issue several times with the UAE’s Foreign Minister, Abdullah bin Zayed, and most recently on 12 November. We have been clear that we do not agree with the charges but we are grateful to the UAE Government for resolving the issue.

Matthew Hedges

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what evidence the UK Government has received from the United Arab Emirates authorities or other sources to support Matthew Hedges’s conviction.

Alistair Burt: As the Foreign Secretary has said, we have seen no evidence to suggest that there is any truth to these charges.

Matthew Hedges

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken in response to the conviction of Matthew Hedges.

Alistair Burt: Following the court hearing on Wednesday 21 November, the Foreign Secretary released a statement and discussed Matthew Hedges' case with Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed and the United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the UK. I have also spoken to Deputy Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash, most recently on 23 November. We welcome the news of Mr Hedges' pardon. He has now returned to the UK and has reunited with his wife.

Matthew Hedges

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans his Department has to respond the conviction of Matthew Hedges.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign Secretary has consistently raised Matthew Hedges' case at the highest levels including most recently with the Emirati Foreign Minister on 25 November, and the Crown Prince on 12 November. I also spoke to Emirati Deputy Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash about the case on 23 November. As the Foreign Secretary said, Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff worked incredibly hard to bring about a speedy resolution to Matthew's case. He has now returned to the UK and has reunited with his wife.

United Arab Emirates: Travel Information

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of its travel advice to the United Arab Emirates.

Alistair Burt: We keep all our travel advice, including for the United Arab Emirates, under constant review to ensure it reflects our assessment of the risk to British nationals. We do not update our travel advice in relation to the specific circumstances of every consular assistance case, but will do so if we assess that other British nationals travelling or living in the area may be affected. We encourage all British nationals to make use of our travel advice, alongside other sources of information available to them, to help them plan for a safe trip.

United Arab Emirates: Travel Information

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what guidance his Department has provided to (a) universities and (b) academics in the light of Matthew Hedges’s conviction.

Alistair Burt: We keep all our travel advice, including for the United Arab Emirates, under constant review to ensure it reflects our assessment of the risk to British nationals. We do not update our travel advice in relation to the specific circumstances of every consular assistance case, but will do so if we assess that other British nationals travelling or living in the area may be affected. We encourage all British nationals to make use of our travel advice, alongside other sources of information available to them, to help them plan for a safe trip.

Matthew Hedges

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what contact and at what level the UK Government has made with its counterparts in the United Arab Emirates subsequent to Matthew Hedges's conviction.

Alistair Burt: Following the court hearing on Wednesday 21 November, the Foreign Secretary released a statement and discussed Matthew Hedges' case with Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed and the United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the UK. I also spoke to Deputy Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash most recently on 23 November. We welcome the news of Mr Hedges' pardon. He has now returned to the UK and has reunited with his wife

Matthew Hedges

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the effect on the UK's bilateral relations with the United Arab Emirates as a result of the treatment of Matthew Hedges in that country.

Alistair Burt: As the Foreign Secretary said on 22 November, we have a close partnership with the United Arab Emirates. We have been clear that we do not agree with the charges but we are grateful to the UAE for the effort that put into resolving the situtation.

Iran: Baha'i Faith

Alex Chalk: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the Iranian Government on the alleged persecution of the Baha'i community.

Alistair Burt: We most recently called upon Iran to cease harassment of all religious minorities, including the Baha’is, at the UN interactive dialogue on human rights on 24 October, and at the UN General Assembly Third Committee on 15 November. We continue to urge Iran to fulfil its international and domestic obligations to protect freedom of religion or belief, and to allow the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran access to the country to conduct research and investigations into concerns reported there.

Tunisia: Official Visits

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has plans to visit Tunisia in the next six months.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for International Development, Penny Mordaunt, Lord Ahmad and I have visited Tunisia this year. The Foreign Secretary does not currently have plans to do so in the next six months. I look forward to hosting my Tunisian colleagues in London next summer for our annual UK-Tunisia Bilateral Forum.

Department of Health and Social Care

Public Health: Finance

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been allocated to local authorities for the local authority public health grant in each year between 2014 and 2020.

Steve Brine: The information requested is shown in the following table.YearPublic Health Grant Allocation (£ billion)2013/142.6632014/152.7952015/1613.0312016/173.3872017/1823.3042018/193.219 Notes:1Funding public health services for children aged 0-5 was transferred from the NHS to local authorities from October 2015.2Includes funding retained by the Greater Manchester local authority as part of a business rate retention pilot not allocated as grant.

Vitamins

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent guidance his Department has issued to GPs on advising patients to increase their intake of vitamins.

Steve Brine: Public Health England has not issued any recent guidance to general practitioners on advising patients to increase their intake of vitamins.

Antibiotics

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent guidance his Department has issued to GPs on prescribing antibiotics.

Steve Brine: The Department does not publish clinical guidance. Multiple resources providing guidance on antimicrobial stewardship in primary care have been published by partners across the health system over the life of the current United Kingdom antimicrobial resistance strategy.

Measles: Vaccination

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's policy is on vaccinating children against measles.

Steve Brine: Measles vaccination is offered to all children within a month of their first birthday (at ages 12 – 13 months) with a second dose before starting school, usually at three years four months (or soon after), as part of the routine measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination programme. Children up to the age of 18 who missed, or only partially completed, their earlier MMR vaccination are eligible for a catch-up MMR vaccination.

Epilepsy: Drugs

Mr Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the availability of essential epilepsy medicines from the EU during the transition period for the UK leaving the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: The Government has now agreed the Withdrawal Agreement with the European Commission. As a consequence, the Department does not expect market access to medicines for the United Kingdom to change under the terms of that agreement during the implementation period, which will run from March 2019 until December 2020. The Department does not expect to see significant changes to the continuity of medicine supply in the intervening period, although we will be monitoring this closely.

Reproduction: Health Services

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to introduce a women’s reproductive health workforce strategy.

Steve Brine: Public Health England’s reproductive health action plan will be published in 2019 and aims to demonstrate sustainable improvements in key reproductive health outcomes and reduce inequalities. There has been an extensive period of consultation with different organisations and at both national and local level to inform the action plan which will be delivered through five work-streams:- Strategic leadership and accountability;- Data and evidence;- Information and messaging;- Proportionate universalism of care; and- Workforce. The Workforce work stream will be a first step in the development of a women’s reproductive health workforce strategy.

Primary Health Care: Allied Health Professions

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many therapists were working in primary care in (a) March 2017 and (b) the most recent date for which information is available.

Steve Brine: Data for the workforce providing mental health therapy services in the community via the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme are available from the 2015 IAPT Workforce Census, which recorded 8,588 IAPT staff, by headcount, equivalent to 7,205 full time equivalents (FTEs), as at 30 April 2015.More recent data are not yet available. NHS England is undertaking work to develop an up-to-date baseline for the number of mental health therapists working in primary care.NHS Digital also publishes data on the numbers of therapists and physiotherapists directly employed in general practice in March 2017 and in June 2018. The data are shown in the following table.These numbers do not include therapists employed by the National Health Service to provide services in primary care settings. Finalised data for September 2018 will be published in December 2018. March 2017June 2018HeadcountFTEHeadcountFTETherapists49177027Physiotherapists35165520Grand Total843312547Source: NHS Digital, General and Personal Medical Services

Contraceptives

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of contracts for the delivery contraceptive services that have been terminated in each (a) local authority and (b) parliamentary constituency in each year since 2013.

Steve Brine: Contracts for the delivery of contraceptive services are not monitored centrally.

Veterans: Mental Health Services

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that retired military personnel have access to mental health support.

Jackie Doyle-Price: In addition to all the clinical commissioning group commissioned mental health services, many of which have pathways and services relevant to armed forces, NHS England commissions two bespoke services for veterans experiencing mental health difficulties.The first is the Transition, Intervention and Liaison Service which supports serving personnel who need additional support as they are leaving the armed forces and veterans who have mental health issues. The Transition, Intervention and Liaison Service is also the entry point to the Complex Treatment Service, the second service commissioned by NHS England. The Complex Treatment Service is able to provide a range of more intensive care and treatment for veterans with military related complex mental health difficulties, many of whom will have experienced trauma.The Transition Intervention and Liaison Service accepts referrals directly from veterans or a veteran can ask their general practitioner or a military charity to refer them.

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Life Expectancy

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to increase the life expectancy of people in deprived regions throughout the world.

Alistair Burt: Ensuring access for all to quality essential health and nutrition services is critical to increasing life expectancy and leaving no one behind. DFID assists countries to strengthen their health systems to ensure access to quality health services, medicines, and other essential commodities; save lives and improve women’s and children’s health, including sexual and reproductive health and rights; protect communities from health threats such as disease outbreaks and antimicrobial resistance; prevent and treat malnutrition; and tackle diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria that cause death and disability. As the second largest donor to the Global Fund, our funding contributed to the distribution of 197 million mosquito nets and the treatment of 108 million cases of malaria in 2017. Our investment to Gavi between 2016 and 2020 will vaccinate 76m children and save 1.4m lives.

Overseas Aid

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what comparative assessment she has made of the trends in the level of aid to Tunisia and other similar countries.

Alistair Burt: In 2018/19 the UK is providing £10m to support Tunisia through the North Africa Good Governance Fund (NAGGF). This money supports projects across priority sectors including the economy, education, governance and security.For comparative purposes, at the start of the financial year, the UK allocated the following amounts from the NAGGF to support economic and political reform in the other countries of North Africa:Algeria: £6.5 millionEgypt: £9.5 millionLibya: £12 millionMorocco: £4 millionThrough the NAGGF, the UK also allocated £8 million for the provision of technical assistance to North African governments as well as for projects with a focus on regional co-operation.This represents a substantial increase in the UK’s development investment in the region relative to previous years. The region also benefits from several DFID centrally-managed programmes as well as the UK’s significant contributions to multilateral organisations and international financial institutions.

Department for Education

Teachers: Pay

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to allocate new moneys to fund in full the pay award for teaching staff in Catholic sixth-form colleges; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: Further education (FE) providers, including Catholic sixth-form colleges, are independent institutions responsible for setting their own staff salaries, and the government has no current plans to allocate money to assist with any increases in their teachers’ pay.However, we know that FE faces cost pressures, and we are working with the sector to look closely at funding, to see what more we can do and to inform Spending Review planning.

Free School Meals: Gateshead

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of (a) children and (b) children eligible for free school meals reached a Good Level of Development at age five in the Gateshead constituency in each of the last three years.

Nadhim Zahawi: The requested data is shown in the attached table. Results at local authority level for academic year 2017/18 are due to be published on Thursday 29 November.



Achievement_in_early_years_foundation_stage
(PDF Document, 390.57 KB)

Higher Education: Standards

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of a higher education provider’s Teaching Excellence Framework rating on the number of students that applied to study at that provider since the rating was awarded.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Teaching Excellence Framework on improvements in the quality of teaching at higher education providers.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Teaching Excellence Framework measures the quality of teaching at a higher education provider.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect a higher education provider’s Teaching Excellence Framework rating has on a provider’s (a) national and (b) international reputation.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The purpose of the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) is to drive up standards of teaching quality in higher education, as well as to offer prospective students information about where to find high quality teaching and the most positive graduate outcomes.We are assessing and evaluating the development of the TEF on an ongoing basis. Since 2016, we have published consultation reports, research reports and evaluation findings on the development of the TEF. The Office for Students also published its findings from the first year of the subject-level pilots on 22 October.We intend to publish further research on the initial impact of the TEF, based on the provider-level evaluation 2016/17, in the New Year. That research report will include evidence, drawing on the views of providers and students, about the effect of the TEF on the choices made by students. It will also report on the perceptions of changes to institutional reputation that providers and students, both home and international, attribute to the TEF.On 19 November, we announced the appointment of Dame Shirley Pearce as the independent reviewer of TEF. Dame Shirley Pearce will report on the operation of the TEF, in line with the remit set out for her in section 26 of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017. We expect her to report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in Summer 2019.

Republic of Ireland: Foreign Students

Sir Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions the Prime Minister has had with the President of the Republic of Ireland on the undergraduates from England studying at Irish universities; and whether the current financial arrangements will be made available to (a) them and (b) EU citizens after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The UK government is firmly committed to maintaining the Common Travel Area (CTA) and to protecting the rights enjoyed by UK and Irish nationals when in each other’s states. Article 5 of the Northern Ireland Protocol to the draft Withdrawal Agreement builds on December’s joint report and confirms that the UK and Ireland can continue to make arrangements between themselves concerning the CTA. This means that rights to enter, reside, work, study and access social security and public services will be preserved on a reciprocal basis for UK and Irish nationals in the other’s state. Arrangements on access to student finance support for other EU nationals starting a course in England after the transition period ends are under consideration.

Department of Education: Location

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the cancelled move of the Department for Education to the old Admiralty buildings.

Anne Milton: As the move to Old Admiralty Building has not taken place, there have been no costs to the taxpayer for the moves programme. Work on the project to date has focussed on the refurbishment of the building itself.

Ministry of Justice

Reoffenders: Sentencing

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of sentences involving parole in addressing reoffending.

Lucy Frazer: Holding answer received on 30 November 2018



In most cases a standard determinate sentence will be imposed by the court and such offenders will serve the first half of their sentence in prison and the second half in the community on licence. Under the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014 we extended supervision on licence to approximately 40,000 offenders each year who are released from short custodial sentences who did not previously receive statutory support from probation after release. Providing supervision and support to this group of offenders – which includes some of the most prolific individuals, who are often leading chaotic lives – is the right thing to do if we are to reduce reoffending. In cases where an offender has been convicted of a sexual or violence offence, the court may impose an indeterminate sentence or, where an offender is considered “dangerous”, an extended determinate sentence. Indeterminate sentenced prisoners are released on licence at the discretion of the Parole Board, whilst some extended sentenced prisoners may also be released at the Board’s discretion. The Parole Board may only direct the release of an offender if satisfied they do not pose a risk to the safety of the public. Offenders on licence must comply with a strict set of conditions. If any offender breaches their licence conditions, they are liable to be recalled immediately to prison. However, the aim is always to support offenders to complete their licence successfully.

Legal Aid Scheme: Asylum

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the Legal Aid Scheme on the right to a family life for people seeking asylum.

Lucy Frazer: Legal aid has always been and will continue to be available for asylum cases. For matters not within the scope of scheme, Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) may be available where there is a breach or risk of breach of ECHR rights, subject to means and merits tests.

Ministry of Defence

Nuclear Disarmament

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on meeting the commitment in the Strategic Defence and Security Review, published in 2010, to reduce the UK's nuclear warhead stockpile ceiling from not more than 225 to not more than 180 by the mid 2020s.

Gavin Williamson: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the Government plans to bring forward legislative proposals to implement the transitional protections for claimants of universal credit that were in receipt of severe disability premium.

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the proposed transitional protections for claimants of universal credit that were in receipt of severe disability premium will be backdated for claimants that have been migrated to universal credit.

Alok Sharma: Our proposals to implement transitional protections for claimants of Universal Credit who had previously been in receipt of the Severe Disability Premium were laid before Parliament on 5 November 2018 as part of the Universal Credit (Managed Migration) Regulations 2018. These regulations make provision for an on-going payment to claimants who have already lost their Severe Disability Premium as a result of moving on to Universal Credit and who would still meet the eligibility criteria. The regulations also include an additional payment to cover the period since they moved onto Universal Credit. These payments are subject to the regulations receiving Parliamentary approval.

Cooperatives and Social Enterprises

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what resources are available through Jobcentre Plus for people planning to set up social enterprises and co-operatives.

Alok Sharma: The New Enterprise Allowance supports people to start their own business or develop their business if they are already self-employed. Businesses may include social enterprises or cooperatives. Since its launch in April 2011 up to the end of June 2018, there have been over 120,520 businesses set up through the New Enterprise Allowance scheme. Work Coaches are also aware of local provision to which they can signpost people as appropriate.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Veterinary Medicine

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of vets required in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

David Rutley: Defra officials continually study statistics about the veterinary profession. The sources are publicly available through the website of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS). The number of vets who may be required after the UK leaves the EU varies according to the range of scenarios. We anticipate some extra demand would be created in the unlikely event that the UK does not reach a deal with the EU relating to the certification of animals and animal products for export to the EU. RCVS has announced its agreement to a proposal from Defra for the creation of a new type of a supporting officer role in aid of the export certification work. This would potentially reduce the additional demands on vets. Defra continues to work with other Government Departments and veterinary stakeholders on further initiatives to ensure sufficient veterinary capacity.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Written Questions

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to Question 190943, tabled on 13 November 2018, by the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon.

David Rutley: The answer to Question 190943 was published on 27 November 2018 and can be found on the parliamentary website.

Food: Production

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to the pursuant to the Answer of 12 November 2018 to Question 187334 on Food: Production, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the food and farming sector on employing workers in the sector.

George Eustice: It is a priority of this Government to enable an innovative, productive and competitive food supply chain, which invests in its people and skills.Defra Ministers have ongoing discussions with a wide range of stakeholders about securing the workforce that the food and farming industry needs for the future.The new Food and Drink Sector Council provides a valuable focus on skills and talent in the food chain through a new partnership between industry and government. The Council was announced in the Government’s Industrial Strategy and is a formal industry partnership with government which aims to improve the productivity and sustainability of the entire food chain.The Council has established Workforce and Agricultural Productivity Working Groups: these are industry-led and will have a key role to play in identifying and addressing skills gaps, as well as promoting the food chain as a great place to work.The Secretary of State attended a Sector Council meeting on 17 October 2018 where he acknowledged the Council’s concerns arising from the UK’s departure from the EU, which included a reliance on a European workforce. In concluding discussions at the meeting it was agreed that the Council had an important role to play in alerting Government to key issues and helping shape potential solutions.

Dairy Farming: Contracts

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to launch his consultation on the regulation of dairy contracts.

George Eustice: The Government is committed to improving supply chain fairness and intends to introduce regulation in the dairy sector to improve contractual practice. We will be launching a formal consultation to gather views from all interested stakeholders. We are planning to do this as soon as possible and will provide a definite date in due course.

Home Office

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the proportion of illegal migrants that have entered the UK via sea are (a) male, (b) female and (c) children.

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many illegal migrants stranded at sea have rescued by UK officials in the last 12 months; and what the cost has been to the public purse of such operations.

Caroline Nokes: Border Force does not routinely publish this level of data on clandestines.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his Department's policy is on preventing illegal migrants from entering the UK via sea routes.

Caroline Nokes: The UK takes a wide range of measures to maintain the security of the border and prevent migrants from entering the country illegally. We carry out 100% checks on passengers arriving on scheduled services at the border to identify any criminal, security and immigration concerns. Where we believe someone poses a risk, Border Force officers can and do refuse them entry.Border Force works closely with domestic and international partners on an intelligence led approach to detecting and preventing unlawful maritime activity including attempts to enter the UK clandestinely, and uses a combination of cutters, radar and aerial surveillance to detect and stop small craft

Undocumented Migrants

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of (a) how many and (b) what proportion of illegal migrants (a) have gained entry (b) are attempting to gain entry to the UK via sea routes.

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of illegal migrants that (i) entered and (ii) attempted to enter the UK via sea routes were aged (A) 16-25, (B) 26-35, (C) 36-45, (D) 46-55 and (E) over 56 in each of the last five years.

Caroline Nokes: Border Force does not routinely publish this level of data on clandestine entry or attempts to enter the UK.

Animal Experiments: Animal Breeding

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the statement in the document entitled Additional Statistics on Breeding and Genotyping of Animals for Scientific Procedures, Great Britain 2017, published on 8 November 2018, that 1.81 million non–genetically altered animals were bred for but not used in regulated procedures, if the Government will bring forward plans to achieve a significant reduction in such breeding.

Mr Ben Wallace: The Home Office will publish a framework for the efficient breeding of animals shortly. The framework has been piloted and used for at least the last year by both the Home Office Inspectorate and scientific establishments to drive best practice for efficient breeding. The framework is focussed on the efficient breeding of genetically altered animals, yet also applies to non genetically altered animals.

Treasury

Domestic Safety: VAT

Karen Lee: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to reduce VAT on safety products and services.

Karen Lee: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has estimated the cost to the public purse of reducing VAT on safety products and services from 20 per cent to 5 per cent; and if he will make a statement.

Mel Stride: The government keeps all taxes under review and any future decisions on VAT will continue to be taken in line with the normal Budget process.The government does not hold information on VAT revenues that can be broken down to assess the cost of reducing VAT on safety products.The government does make available some VAT reliefs for certain safety products including a zero rate of VAT for installations as part of the construction of new residential buildings and a reduced rate for installations as part of a residential conversion.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Exercise: Children

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the proportion of children who engage in the Chief Medical Officer’s national recommended level of activity.

Mims Davies: According to the Health Survey for England, in 2015 22% of children (23% of boys and 20% of girls) aged 5-15 met the physical activity guidelines of being at least moderately active for at least 60 minutes every day. This is higher than in 2012, when 21% of boys and 16% of girls met the guidelines. However this excludes school-based activities and active travel. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-physical-activity-guidelines. As part of the government’s Sporting Future strategy, Sport England’s remit was extended to cover children from age 5+. Government departments including DCMS, DfE and DHSC have worked with Sport England to develop the new Active Lives: Children and Young People survey. This survey launched in schools in September 2017 and will measure in much more detail how children and young people engage in sport and physical activity, and how many are meeting the Chief Medical Officer's guidelines, both in and out of school. The first set of data will be available on 6 December.

Telecommunications

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the UK telecoms industry.

Margot James: In the event of a deal there should be no changes during the implementation period. Telecoms is one of the most liberalised services internationally. The UK benefits from the World Trade Organisation's General Agreement on Trade in Services which makes clear that governments and regulators should not discriminate against telecoms companies of other countries and should ensure fair and equal access to public telecoms networks and services. The UK and the EU are committed to these rules and the government therefore does not anticipate any major changes for UK companies operating in the EU. In the unlikely event of no deal, the government has published two technical notices on telecoms. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/what-telecoms-businesses-should-do-if-theres-no-brexit-deal/what-telecoms-businesses-should-do-if-theres-no-brexit-deal